Madrid

We totally fell in love with Barcelona by the time we left and expected the same out of Madrid after hearing so many good things about the city from many people. The train from Barcelona was a bullet train (the ones like a TGV), so it was just 3 hours to get there, which was good since we had to catch the bull fight in the evening. We had tried to book tickets online, but site was quite useless and after several attempts, we still couldn’t get tickets. That again was good because it’s actually cheaper to get them at the stadium. It’s practically 50% cheaper and they are almost never sold out, because it’s not really that popular with the locals anymore because of the animal cruelty.

The fight was a different experience altogether. The crowd was very sparse and mostly tourists. The few locals there were very enthusiastic about the sport. The parade came out on horses saluting to the stands where the royalty used to sit. After the ceremony, the first bull came out. It was brownish and not as strong as you would generally see. This was a Novillada fight, with bulls that were about 3 years old and matadors who were not very experienced. The bull came out confused and wanted to go back to the door through which it had entered. It kept going back to it. It was almost as if it knew what was about to happen. Soon the matadors started attracting it and the bull as per its training came after the matadors and missed them on all occasions.

In the start the bull is fierce, but that would mean it has a fair chance, which obviously it is not going to get. So to weaken it, men come out on horses with spears in their hands. They attract the bull and as the bull rams the horse, they drive the spear into the spine of the bull from above. This is done twice. Then matadors come with other weapons (some sort of a hook at the end of a long handle)and between some matadors dodging the bull, a couple of them start putting the hook into the back of the bull. They try to put 6 of those hooks in its back!

After getting the bull to bleed profusely, then the main matador comes out (this guy changes every fight) and dodges the bull for some time. This is just for the crowds entertainment and the crowd love it as well (at least the locals who are used to this). We frankly were feeling quite weird. It’s a very gruelling sight watching any animal being tortured and murdered in front of you. After toying with the bull for a while longer, the matador gets his sword. This is to deliver the final blow and after more torture, he drove the entire sword straight into the back of the bull. A meter long sword was completely inserted into the back of the bull, only the handle was left outside. Then more matadors came out to make the bull move about, so as to allow the sword to move in his body and cut up all the organs and within a matter of a few seconds, the bull was down and out. It dies there in front of us. It really feels very weird watching that and honestly you don’t know how to react. The crowd was cheering, but we were just sitting stunned.

After a few minutes another bull came out, this one was much fiercer and the routine followed. This one took down one of the horses (which was blindfolded the whole time), but it was irrelevant as the bulls have to die. They are trained to die. The second fight ended in the same way and the third started, this matador was very courageous and was taking a lot of risks. He even got knocked down by the bull a couple of times and every time that would happen, 4-5 matadors would come out to distract the bull and allow the matador to move to safety. Basically all the matches are fixed and it’s just watching a bull die. It has no chance of survival. Frankly after the first two fights, we were also immune to it and weren’t cringing when we saw the bull die.

The bull fight is something which you have to watch once in a life, but I don’t think I will watch it again. There were 6 bulls that died, we left after the 5^th one itself. We went back to our hostel and kip for the night.

The next day, we had to get our American Express Travellers cheques changed. What a farce the entire thing is. First you get the TCs and have to do it at their exchange rate, then you have to find locations that accept it or banks that will change it. In all of the places we visited, there was only one American express bank at the Madrid airport that would change it at a reasonable price. We changed 1400 euros and had to pay a fee of 21 Euros for it. Anywhere else, it was a massive commission. We were getting only 165 Euros for a TC of 200!! The concept of TCs is to prevent theft, but what’s the point when you’ve already been robbed! 

Anyways our entire morning was lost in getting the money and after that we took a “free” walking tour.

The “free” walking tour is something you will find in every European city and it really depends on the city as to whether its good or useless. The one in Madrid told us about the city and the relevance of some of the places there. The guide told us about some Spanish history as well, but frankly it was nothing that was extremely interesting and I would have found out a lot on my own also if I had put in any effort. the guide spent most of his time taking us around and telling us where we should eat food or Tapas. It was almost as if he was getting commission from every restaurant in town. It ended and we had to pay him a tip of course, so we ended up spending 5 Euros each. After that, we just roamed around the city, going to the palace, the main church (there is always one in all European cities) and the main plazas. Frankly we were quite disappointed with the city. Madrid doesn’t have much of a culture to offer and at no point did we feel connected to the city. Maybe it’s because it’s known for its nightlife and we really aren’t the type of people who would be out all night partying. So maybe its not for us, but frankly it was quite boring and we left that evening for Portugal